Alarmed by the development, Tolu Ilelaboye, a Nigerian-Canadian woman attempting to get a new Manitoba driver’s licence photo, has averred that she’s had enough after being told for the third time her skin tone reads as “unnatural” by an Autopac computer system.
According to Tolu, she had last month, went to two different Autopac locations over the course of three days to get her licence renewed, and was denied.
In a chat with newsmen, she said “At that point, an Autopac person had told me that my skin wasn’t registering a natural colour. So I basically couldn’t get a licence”.
More recently, Ilelaboye said the same thing happened again.
Tolu stated that not only is she unable to get a driver’s license, but it’s dehumanizing to be told repeatedly her skin colour isn’t natural.
She said “It really is dehumanizing in a lot of ways. It’s reminding me of just some of the systems that are in place and processes that are in place that continue to obstruct people’s ability to access all the same resources as other people”.
She continued that the process is so exhausting that she refused to have her photo taken again by an Autopac agent.
“I fundamentally will not come get another photo because that’s personally really damaging,” she said.
In its reaction, Manitoba Public Insurance said resolving this issue is a ‘top priority’ and is working to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The vice-president and chief customer officer with Manitoba Public Insurance, Satvir Jatana, who offered her apologies to Ilelaboye, said “On behalf of MPI, I am truly sorry that this has happened. You know, we we serve all Manitobans and we want our services to be respectful, easy and accessible”
“We know that in this case for Tolu, we fell short and we are doing everything to make it right.”
She promised that MPI will work to ensure Ilelaboye has an updated driver’s licence with an older photo.
However, Tolu, who demanded an up-to-date driver’s licence without having to take a new photo, said she wants to see MPI’s system revamped and staff trained to troubleshoot so clients aren’t being told their skin tone is unnatural.
She said “All of these things can be changed so that other people don’t have to go through this”.
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